BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China will start allowing soybean imports from Ethiopia, customs authorities said Sept. 7, as the world’s top importer seeks to reduce its reliance on supplies of the oilseed from the United States amid a trade dispute.
The move would diversify soybean imports origins for China and help domestic demand, China’s General Administration of Customs said in a statement on its website.
Beijing is seeking more sources for soybean imports and finding alternative protein sources for animal feed after hitting U.S. beans with an additional 25 percent tariff in July as the world’s top two economies remain locked in a trade war.
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Ethiopia, the world’s sixth largest coffee grower and the largest in Africa, is better known for its exports of high-quality arabica coffee beans.
The details of the new deal were unclear. The west African nation has been sending soybeans to China in increasing quantities over the past year.
It accounted for a tiny portion of the Asian nation’s total annual imports of about 95 million tonnes last year.
But in the first three months of 2018, imports were 13,508 tonnes, almost matching the 14,939 tonnes the African country brought in for the whole of 2017.
